The Curse
by Petchricor
Summary: He had tried to warn him, to stop him, but Wirt hadn't listened. Little did he know that blowing out the lantern had it's consequences *alternate ending/universe*


**An idea based off a piece of art I found on Tumblr. Enjoy  
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><p>"I'm warning you boy!" the beast shouted from his place hiding in the shadows. Wirt glared as he held the lantern up, the flap open as he prepared to blow it out, killing the beast in one go. Suddenly, with the lantern in Wirt's hand, the Beast didn't seem to threatening. It was as if a dog was barking from over a fence, it may seem scary but when you realize it's just a small little dog it becomes funny. Wirt raised the lantern up a bit and turned to face it, taking in a breath. The beast panicked and lashed out. "You don't know what you're-ARGH!" Wirt blew the flame out and watched as the beast's eyes went out and he fell in a lump to the ground. Wirt set the lantern down and reached into his cloak to take out his flashlight, turning it on and pointing over at where Greg was, the woodsman using his axe to cut him loose.<p>

"Wirt, that was brilliant!" Beatrice commented as she helped by prying away the little bits of twigs until Greg was free. The woodsman picked him up and turned to Wirt, who hadn't moved. "Wirt, come on, it's time to get you guys home." Wirt blinked. Suddenly, he didn't feel like he belonged at home, like he should stay here. "Wirt?" Wirt opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a sudden pain that shot through his gut. With a grunt he dropped the flashlight and grabbed his stomach, wincing. "Wirt? What's wrong?!" Beatrice flew over but Wirt backed away, out of the light.

"G-go, get Greg home," Wirt told her, his voice weak with pain. Beatrice frowned and flew passed the light, going to land on his shoulder, but found that he wasn't where she thought he was. She flew backwards and landed in the rim of the flashlight with a frown. "Take him home, Beatrice." Another grunt of pain came from the darkness.

"What? No! You have to go home too, Wirt!" When no response came the little bird's heart dropped. "Wirt?" Still no response and she flew into the air a little. "Wirt?! Wirt, come back!" The woodsman picked the flashlight up and Beatrice turned to face him as he did, a sad frown on his face. "He-he's gone." She couldn't believe it. Why would Wirt just leave his brother like that? And why had be sounded like he was in deep pain? The woodsman pointed to the ground and Beatrice looked down, gasping when she saw the scissors from Adelaide's. With her bird feet she picked them up and sighed. "Will you take him home?" The woodsman nodded. "Thank you. Goodbye, Greg."

AΩ

"Greg! Someone get him a blanket!" one of the teens called and Sarah took her jacket off, placing it over Greg's small shoulders. "Greg, where's your brother?" Greg held his frog a little tighter and looked into the water, getting the others to gasp. Red and blue lights told them that the police and the doctors had now arrived. Sarah knelt down by Greg, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Greg, is Wirt...in the water?" she asked. Greg nodded and she gasped, hugging the small boy as the teens hailed the adults over. "Oh Greg, I'm so sorry." Greg shifted and Sarah let him look at her, smiling happily. She blinked in surprise.

"It's ok," he said weakly. "I know where he is now, he's safe." Sarah just nodded in consent and let the doctors take him. But she couldn't help but wonder about what Greg said, he had sounded so sure of himself.

AΩ

Wirt ran and ran, the unlit lantern swinging to and fro in his grip. With a yelp he tripped over a rock and fell into the snow, his body tingling with immense pain as he lay there. He curled up tight and clutched his stomach as it burned like hellfire, crying out in agony as the fire seemed to spread all over his body. His head suddenly burst out in pain like it was going to crack and he cried out again, reaching a hand up to hold one of the two spots that hurt on either side of his head. He gasped when he felt something start to grow there, steady and fast it started to sprout from his head.

_"I tried to warn you."_ The voice was only a whisper but Wirt could hear it and knew who it was, the haunting voice of the beast. Wirt's hat fell to the ground as he shook in pain, feeling his hands harden against his skin and the snow was starting to stop being cold and the air's chill seemed to fade. _"I tried to stop you, but you didn't listen."_ Wirt screamed in agony at the burning of his eyes and put his hands to cover them, the things still sprouting from either side of his head. Then the pain was gone. The burning stopped but the freezing cold of the winter night didn't replace it, as though he had been put into a nice, warm room. Then there was a light. _"My boy, he who blows out the beast's lantern, becomes the beast."_

"No." Wirt opened his eyes, removing his hands and saw the lantern lying before him, lit once again with a bright light. He winced at the brightness and looked away, seeing the entire night wood lit up as though it were daytime. "It-it can't be. I-I'm not..." Wirt sat up and looked down at his hands, finding that there were completely made of wood. He gasped and reached up, feeling the wooden antlers that had sprouted from his head and saw that his cloak had molded into him, becoming one with his being. "I-I'm...I'm the beast." He heard the beast laughing, the sound slowly fading as Wirt began to scream in horror at what he had become.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading, please review, and have a bow chicka bow wow day!<strong>

**Petchricor, QotG, signing off ;)**


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